Changes in working patterns have lead to changes in eating habits, particularly with respect to what might be called traditional meal times where a family group sits around a table and eats home cooked food. It is now becoming increasingly commonplace for convenience meals to be eaten of an evening while watching television from an easy chair. This change has, in turn, lead to an increase in takeaway food outlets where a person can collect a pre-cooked meal or constituent portion to eat at home or on the move.
For some time now, supermarkets have offered a range of prepared food which can be taken home, heated or cooked, and then eaten. However, there is now increasing competition from takeaway food outlets which supermarkets wish to address by supplying hot ready cooked meals and snack items themselves. One of the problems faced by supermarkets is how to keep such food hot whilst making it readily accessible to customers and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet which will be suitable for this purpose. A further object of the present invention is to provide a heated food storage cabinet which enables heated air to flow over packs of food contained therein.
According to the present invention there is provided a heated food storage and display cabinet comprising an open fronted enclosed chamber within which packs of food can be stored, the cabinet including flow inducing means and heater means arranged in an upper region thereof, the flow inducing means being operable to draw air from an upper portion of the enclosed chamber, direct the air over the heater means to heat the air and subsequently urge the heated air down the rear wall of the chamber and across the floor of the chamber towards the open front of the chamber, said heated air being subsequently directed upwardly and rearwardly across the open front of the chamber by an airflow direction member of the chamber to provide a heated air curtain across the open front of the chamber, wherein a portion of the heated air passes into the chamber as said heated air moves down the rear wall and across the floor so as to pass over and around packs of food stored therein.
The airflow direction member of the cabinet ensures that the flow of heated air driven by the flow inducing means is not ejected out through the open front of the cabinet. The airflow redirection member preferably extends across the cabinet between opposing side walls of the cabinet. The airflow redirection member is preferably planar and is inclined inwardly with respect to the chamber. The airflow redirection member may be inclined inwardly with respect to the chamber at an angle of between 10 to 20 degrees to the vertical. Preferably, the airflow redirection member is inclined at an angle of around 15 degrees to the vertical.
The flow inducing means preferably comprise a pair of fans situated in an upper portion of the chamber. The fans are preferably provided in a side by side arrangement. The heater means are positioned at the fan outlets. The heater means may preferably comprise one or more electric heating elements. The fans are operable independently of one another and as such may be operated at slightly different speeds so as to ensure a uniform distribution of air around the cabinet.
In a preferred embodiment the fans and heater means are provided in a fan chamber situated in an upper portion of the cabinet chamber. The fan chamber is provided with an inlet arranged to receive air from within the open fronted enclosed chamber of the cabinet and an outlet arranged to direct heated air towards the rear wall of the enclosed chamber. The inlet may comprise a plurality of apertures aligned with the inlet to the fans. The apertures may comprise a plurality of louvered slots. The fan chamber may be separated from the cabinet chamber by a panel extending between opposed sides of the cabinet chamber. The panel is preferably movable so a to permit access to the fan chamber. The panel may be hinged to the cabinet.
The cabinet chamber is preferably provided with one or more food pack support means. The food pack support means may comprise one or more shelves. Each shelf may comprise a pair of spaced brackets having a food pack support member extending therebetween. The support member may be provided with a apertures therethrough. In a preferred embodiment the support member may be inclinable. As such the support member may be set at desired inclination. The support member is preferably provided with an airflow redirection means along its forward edge. The airflow redirection means may be defined by a tab or curved surface extending along the forward edge of the support member. The airflow redirection means may be incorporated into a display member provided on the forward edge of the support member.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of storing and displaying heated food in an open fronted cabinet, the method comprising providing an open fronted enclosed chamber within which packs of food can be stored, providing flow inducing means and heater means arranged in an upper region thereof, operating said the flow inducing means to draw air from an upper portion of the enclosed chamber, direct the air over the heater means to heat the air and subsequently urge the heated air down the rear wall of the chamber and across the floor of the chamber towards the open front of the chamber, providing an airflow direction member to direct said heated air upwardly and rearwardly across the open front of the chamber to provide a heated air curtain across the open front of the chamber, and causing a portion of the heated air to pass into the chamber as said heated air moves down the rear wall and across the floor so as to pass over and around packs of food stored therein.